The Lomourette isn’t technically fully launched yet but you can already get your hands on Lomography’s replacement for the Diana Mini. But it’s the same camera with less features

The Lomourette’s biggest issue is existence the Diana Mini. If the latter never existed, I’d probably be happier with this Diana series camera. I’d have though fun little hommage. But even then there are a few issues…

But it’s not

And the fact that you can still buy the Mini for the same money with more stuff in box is wee bit annoying

But this a Lomourette not a Diana ?

I honestly have no idea why this wasn’t called the Diana Half or Diana Mini half. It’s possible marketing thinks separating the name will help this be seen as something different. But it really isn’t. They are the same core camera with the Lomourette being simplified.

I discussed the history of the Diana Mini on my post on it’s demise. The TL:DR is that the mini was a 35mm verion of Lomography’s Diana F+. that was a hommage to the Lo-Fi 60’s Diana type cameras.

Both it and the Lomourette are retro Diana styled plastic viewfinders with an alleged zone focus lens. At the current time 3 version exist – classic Diana blue black, pastel green & white picnic and the water lilies version with a monet style print. The latter cost 10 quid more than the other 2 which are £65 before postage on Lomography’s UK store

Remind me of the spec

The Lomourette shares the Mini’s 24mm 1:8 plastic lens. The shutter is adjustable between a 1/60 (N) and bulb. The lens has 4 focal points marked (0.6m, 1-2m, 2-4m &4m+). There is no metering

Images are captured in half frame

The camera has a proprietary 2 pin flash mount for the Diana F+ flash. It is sold with that flash currently a set of gel filter for flash and a lens cap as well as the obligatory Lomography small coffee table book of nice images.

And how does the Diana Mini differ

Currently sold at the same price the Diana mini also comes with the same flash and other extras. But you also get a set of flash adaptors allowing you to use the Diana F+ on other cameras via hotshoe or use a hot shoe flash on your mini

The Mini itself has 4 differences

The most obvious is the camera shoots natively 24x24mm square images but you can switch to a 17x24mm half frame (slightly smaller than the lomourette and most half frames). But you also geta switchable aperture (f/8 or f/11), tripod point and a cable release point

That’s all for the same money. And before you tell me that ‘cos it discontinued, well back in Feb when I first discovered the Lomourette before they even announce the demise of the mini that was the price.

In use

the Lomourette and Diana Mini share the same loading system. To get in you swing to open the small switch on the base and slide down the whole back like an original Diana. It looks normal except for the little swing in gate

Its a pig of a loading system . Sometime rolls go in fine sometimes you think you’ve loaded and then doesn’t wind on properly and then when it does work it seems to stop.

The shutter count does not reset until you’ve loaded properly and wound on with the back shut.

The shutter is independent of the winding on so allows for easy MX shots (or accidental double exposures. I tend to wind on and put the cap back on to avoid this – it wont wind on until you take a shot. Rewind is a standard – depress pin on base and use the rewind knob

focusing is done by moving the inner ring at the front of the lens

Testing

I shot 3 rolls in Early March. I had no issue loading the XP2 but I did with the other 2. One was Kodak Colorplus 200 24 exp roll and the other was 12 Exp rebrand I got with a Chinese own brand camera. This film called Hayamou turned out to be Colorplus 200 as well (Kodak 200-8 edge marking)

Films headed to Photo Hippo who processed and scanned them on medium scan settings.

Results

Well Diana Mini images always looked better on the f/11 setting and it tells.

Actually close shots seem okay in a lo-fi soft way

But anything beyond a few meters gets a lot more murky. The focus is not really a thing like the Diana Mini I’m not so convinced it does much as this Diptych

The fixed exposure is a bit of a bugbear here. But more importantly I do think images would have been sharper if we had the f/11 rather than the f/8 stop.

As with the mini the vertical stroke shutter by lens adds to shake.

You can do longer exposures if you can brace the camera. It’s no my lo-fi thang but again the mini with a tripod point and a cable point provides a better option.

The lens suffers from barrel distortion and falls off a bit at the corners although not as bad as some other optically better plastic shooters. Very faint vignetting is evident. Fringing is evident as well but not awful.

This shot served a second purpose as it was used to frame the image which is no surprisingly quite central and only slightly larger than appeared in finder.

Much different to the Mini Then ?

In fairness the mini was a bit of hit or miss with me. Poor images interspaced with fantastic lo-fi retro wonder. You can never tell what would work. The Lomourette feels the same but with less options.

And rivals

Back when the mini launched , there were few new cameras offering half frame. The only notable one was Superheadz Golden Half which Peggy Marsh’s review at Camera Go Camera indicates more cult status than quality.

But in 2024 the game has long Changed. Reto who are consistently taking the ball into Lomography’s Lo-Fi park gave us the Kodak Ektar H35 back in 2022 with its VUWS lens and en Pointe vintage looks. A wonderful camera only to be outdone by its hybrid lens successor the Kodak EktarH35N.

There’s also been quite a few modified full frame plastic fantastics that shoot half frame. In Europe the most available is Agfaphoto Half Frame but similar models like the Escura Snaps 35 Half. these are both based off their respective Dubblefilm Show clone stablemates. These are more limited than the Ektar H35s’s but also offer 2 apertures.

For lots more money Lomography sell arguably the best in current production half frame.

That’s in the form of the LC-A Wide which shoots full frame natively but can be switched into half frame (as well as square) mode. Full metering, multi element glass optics and lots of premium stuff. Pentax this year should release a new half frame, their first film camera in 2 decades.

That’s before you go off into vintage land…

Final Thoughts on the Lomourette –
Was it l’amour or more Niet ?

You probably know by now.

I wasn’t exactly enamoured by what was essentially a cut back mini for the same money. In fairness if the mini didn’t exist I might have been more disposed to this. And I suspect cost pressures have led Lomography done this line. They have the much more premium (and decent) LomoApparat at just under £90.

Also in fairness it is better than the Diana Baby 110 but so is our pet rock.

But that said. What gives with the name choice ? This is Diana series camera and I get the need to draw a line under the mini but…
Going with the f/8 rather than f/11 doesn’t help my disposition towards this. Yes there are flashes of brilliance but a couple of interesting photos of menus and lucky braced nigh shot over 3 rolls does not bode well.

At the moment even if you are tempted buy one of the last Diana Minis instead. You’ll thank me. Otherwise by a H35N for a decent lo-fi half frame.